Citation from The Statue of Liberty Encyclopedia by Barry Moreno (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000):
Boston: "Captial city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In 1882, Boston made a bid for the Statue of Liberty, in response to the slowness of the pedestal campaign in New York City. A jealous New-York Times editorial of 3 October 1882 commented: 'She porposes to take our neglected statue of Liberty and warm it over for her own use and glory. Boston has probably again overestimated her powers. This statue is dear to us, though we have never looked upon it, and no third rate town is going to step in and take it from us. Philadelphia tried to do that in 1876, and failed. Let Boston be warned . . . that she can't have our Liberty . . . that great light-house statue will be smashed into . . . fragments before it shall be stuck up in Boston Harbor. If we are to lose the statue it shall go to some worthier and more modest place--Painted Post, for instance, or Glover, Vt." (49)
Construction (United States): "The Statue of Liberty was transported to the United States aboard the French frigate Isere and arrived in New York harbor on 17 June 1885. The 214 cases of varying sizes that contained the statue's body parts were unloaded at Bedloe's Island to await unpacking when the statue's pedestal was complete (April 1886). From May through August 1886, the statue's iron pylon and its secondary and tertiary extensions were assembled. The copper body pieces were taken out of cases (some required repair) and the riveted together. Soon, the skeleton of Liberty appeared atop the pedestal, held in place by General Charles P. Stone's effective steel anchorage system. In attaching the first copper sheet to the skeleton, the first two rivets driven in were christened 'Bartholdi' and 'Pulitzer.' Due to the pedestal beneath, a scaffold could not be erected for the workers, so the men had to carry out their jobs by hanging as best they could from the armature (there were no casualties). The huge, thin copper sheets (3/32 inches, or 2.5 millimeters, thick) were riveted on the skeleton horizontally. By early October 1886, only the head was still missing, but it was soon attached. Landscape gardener Frederick Law Olmstead supervised a clean-up of Bedloe's Island in time for the statue's inauguration and dedication on 28 October 1886." (pages 64-65)
Inauguration: "The statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was officially inaugurated in New York City on 28 October 1886, which had been declared a public holiday for the occasion. The sky was overcast with gray clouds, and there was a fine drizzle. The inauguration was divided into two events: a grand parade in the morning in Manhattan; a flotilla celebration in the harbor, followed by the dedication ceremony and unveiling on Bedloe's Island early in the afternoon; and finally, a fireworks display in the evening. On the previous day, Mayor William R. Grace had given Auguste Bartholdi the Freedom of the City of New York 'in gratitude to the . . . creator of the statue which will forever remain a splendid ornament of [the] metropolis.' The Manhattan parade drew a crowd of about 1 million people. [NEW PARAGRAPH] It began at Fifth Avenue and Fifty-seventh Street. Grand marshal Charles P. Stone and the marchers and floats reached President Grover Cleveland's Madison Square reviewing stand by 11:30 in the morning. There, the president declared Bartholdi the 'greatest man in America today.' to which the sculptor graciously responded, 'Through your courtesy, sir.' The dignitaries in the reviewing stand, with the President and Monsieur and Madame Bartholdi, included Viscount de Lesseps, William C. Whitney, and William Evarts. French and American flags fluttered everywhere, and the excited throng milled about in anticipation. A parade of twenty thousand marchers went by, proceeding from Fifth Avenue to Broadway, and down to the Battery. Musical airs such as the 'Marseillaise,' were heard. Marchers included army regiments; Zouaves; war veterans, the Rochambeau Grenadiers; the Italian Rifle Guards; French and Alsatian societies; Philadelphia, New York City, and Brooklyn constables; firemen; and elected officials in carriages. There were free masons and the Knights of Pythias, and other patriotic and social clubs; there were collegiate groups, and a hundred marching bands, and then the representatives from other parts of the nation. There were decorated floats and carriages and plenty of men on horseback. The parade ended with the moving spectacle of President George Washington's carriage passing by, drawn by eight dappled gray horses and escorted by the Continental Guards. By 1:00 p.m., the dignitaries and other sightseers were boarding vessels to see the parade of ships. President Cleveland reviewed this event from the poop deck of the Despatch. There were three hundred ships and boats of all descriptions--steamers, yachts, tugboats, and sailing ships--dominated by Rear Admiral Luce's seven men-of-war, which included the Tennessee, the Saratoga, the Portsmouth, and the Jamestown. The naval flagship was the Gedney. Admiral Luce, commander of the North Atlantic Squadron, was disappointed that the French fleet was unable to join them. The army commander, General Schofield, reviewed the event with his officers on Governor's Island. [NEW PARAGRAPH] At 3:15, there were deafening salvos of U.S. army artillery fire from Governor's Island, joined by the sound of steam whistles from the ships. The Statue of Liberty was then dedicated and unveiled in an elaborate Bedloe's Island ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland; Consul Albert Lefaivre of France; Viscount Ferdinand de Lesseps of the Franco-American Union; and William M. Evarts, on behalf of the American Committee." (pages119-120)
Telegrams published in Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States.
http://books.google.com/books?id=gwYTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA158&dq=statue+of+liberty&Ir=#PPA157,M1
Magazine Notice: Publishers' Weekly, 2 May 1885.
http://books.google.com/books?id=qXMWAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA503&dq=statue of liberty&Ir=
Invitation to the Inauguration of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, 28 October 1886.
http://loc.gov/exhibits/haventohome/images/hh0045s.jpg
"Inauguration of the State of Liberty Enlightening the World," by the President of the United States (Grover Cleveland), 28 October 1886.
http://books.google.com/books?id=WvgTAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=statue+of+liberty&Ir=#PPA1,M1
Newspaper Article: "Postponing Bartholdi's Statue Until There is Liberty for Colored as Well," Cleveland Gazette, 27 November 1886.
http://dbs.ohiohistory.org/africanam/page1.cfm?ItemID=15137
Article: "The Great Statue of Liberty and the Pedestal Fund," The Manufacturer & Builder, June 1885.
http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?root=%2Fmoa%2Fmanu%2Fmanu0017%2F&tif=00146.TIF&cite=&coll=moa&frames=1&view=50
Article: "The Statue of Liberty," The Manufacturer & Builder, September 1876.
http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?coll=moa&root=/moa/manu/manu0008/&tif=00218.TIF&view=50&frames=1
Article: "The Statue of Liberty," The Manufacturer & Builder, November 1876.
http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?root=%2Fmoa%2Fmanu%2Fmanu0008%2F&tif=00265.TIF&cite=&coll=moa&frames=1&view=50
Article: "The Unfinished Pedestal," The World, 16 March 1885.
The World The Unfinished Pedestal 16March1885.docx
New York Times Articles:
A Gift Statue.pdf
Fun for French Visitors.pdf
Caution.pdf
The Statue of Liberty Beginning the Work.pdf
Libertys Place of Rest.pdf
To Drum Up Contributions.pdf
Roosevelts Address at the Statue of Liberty.pdf
The Freedom of the City.pdf
Sites for the Liberty.pdf
Massive Base for the Statue.pdf
The Statue of Liberty The Report of Major Heap.pdf
Miniature Statuettes of Liberty.pdf